


Just Below the Surface

by Aeruthin



Category: The Originals (TV)
Genre: (or is he), Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Angst, Canonical Child Abuse, Drowning, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Firebending & Firebenders, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Vikings, Waterbending & Waterbenders, non-bender!Klaus, waterbender!Elijah, waterbender!Mikael
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:08:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27647296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeruthin/pseuds/Aeruthin
Summary: Set in my Avatar: The Last Airbender AU (can be found ontumblr)Water has always been Elijah's friend, moving on his command.But when Mikael almost drowns Klaus in an attempt to get him to bend, Elijah truly understands the danger of water for the first time.Will his little brother survive what Mikael did to him?
Relationships: Elijah Mikaelson & Esther Mikaelson, Elijah Mikaelson & Klaus Mikaelson, Esther Mikaelson & Klaus Mikaelson, Mikael & Elijah Mikaelson, Mikael & Klaus Mikaelson
Kudos: 10





	Just Below the Surface

The orb of water dances through Elijah’s fingers, swirls across his palm and the back of his hand.

As long as he can remember, water has been friend. It provided their family with food they needed to survive, and the energy they needed to grow.

Water, he had understood since he was born, meant life.

That was, until today. Until it had almost killed his little brother.

Of course, Elijah was well aware of its dangers. The sea was spoken of in awe, and even a river flood could mean the death of those who were unprepared.

But he had never understood it until he saw Niklaus engulfed in a large sphere, held aloft by his father’s bending, clawing desperately at his throat.

Only when Elijah had screamed at his him, had begged him to stop, Mikael had dropped Niklaus to the ground.

Frantically, Elijah had bended the water out of Niklaus’ lungs, and dragged him to their Mother, tears running down his cheeks, whole body shaking. She had taken one look at Niklaus’ limp frame, and had immediately rushed him to the hut of healing.

Elijah had not been allowed inside, of course. Healing was the designated realm of women. And he would just have hindered their efforts.

So he sits outside, unable to do anything but wait, and let the water run through his fingers.

When the door finally opens, he flinches, heart jumping in his chest.

“Elijah?”

It is not his mother, but Ayana, his mother’s best friend. He stares up at her, desperate for news, but unable to form a question.

To his intense relief, she smiles.

“Come, your brother awaits.”

Elijah rushes inside. Niklaus is lying on the bed at the far end of the hut. Their mother is trailing her hand through his hair.

Elijah sinks down and grabs his brother’s clammy hand. Niklaus looks small and weak on the large bed, and it is wrong, all wrong.

“He’ll be alright,” Esther says gently. She places a hand on Elijah’s hair as well. “Will you sit with him?”

Elijah nods wordlessly, repositioning himself.

Esther smiles, and stands. Elijah frowns as he sees something glittering in her fingers.

“Is that Niklaus’ necklace?” he asks, curious.

Esther startles, but recovers quickly.

“It is,” she says. “Look, the string is broken.”

She holds it out to him, and Elijah automatically reaches for it.

“I could fix-”

“No.”

She snatches the necklace away from him, and Elijah flinches, mouth slamming shut.

“He needs you here with him,” Esther continues, soothingly. “I’ll make sure this gets fixed.”

Elijah doesn’t dare object, and instead focuses his attention back on his brother. Once Esther leaves, they are left alone in the darkness of the hut.

“I’m here, Niklaus,” Elijah whispers. Niklaus’ hand is warmer than he expected. Normally, his brother is always shivering, even during the summer heat.

Maybe he has a fever. Elijah bites his lips, considering asking Ayana, but his mother said that Niklaus is fine.

“Don’t worry,” Elijah tells Niklaus. “Mother says you will be better soon.”

He always got better. Always overcame whatever their father did to him. If Mikael said that he was weak, he trained twice as hard with his twin blades. If his father said he was a coward, he climbed to the highest peak.

“We were going to build our own canoe,” Elijah whispers.

“You promised.”

He rests his head on Niklaus’ knuckles and closes his eyes, tears spilling over.

“You promised.”

He stays there for a long while, his eyes slipping close as the rush of fear drains away. At one point, someone lifts him, and places him next to Niklaus, a blanket covering them both.

Instinctively, Elijah snuggles closer, half his mind aware of the warmth that his brother radiates. It is nice, the heat. Nothing like a fever. Contend, with Niklaus’ reassuring heartbeat under his fingers, Elijah drifts off.

When he wakes, the heat is gone. Elijah frowns, wondering if he has imagined it. He intents to ask his mother, but then Niklaus opens his eyes, and they are swept away in the joy of their reunion, and the heavy weight of what nearly happened.

The incident is never mentioned again. But Mikael stops expecting Niklaus to bend any of the elements, and Niklaus trains four times as hard with his twin blades. The necklace is back around his neck, with a new string. Elijah doubts Niklaus even noticed that it was gone.

When they step into their new canoe, build from a tree they cut down themselves, the water reflects the sun, shining brightly across the lake.

Niklaus looks back at him with a proud smile, one hand dipping just below the surface.

_I’ll protect you_ , Elijah vows silently in that moment.

He would not underestimate the dangers of the water again.


End file.
